I had called in a refill of my insulin prescription to my local Publix. Just as I was pulling into the parking lot, my insulin pump beeped at me. This meant, more insulin was needed! I walked in to find the Publix pharmacy CLOSED. Yes, closed. Not only was this pharmacy closed, but EVERY Publix pharmacy was closed for the evening and would not reopen until 10am Sunday morning.
Okay, no one panic (yes, this is me trying to not panic). Next step- find a new pharmacy! Brilliant plan except for one thing: my doctor would have to call in a new Rx to this pharmacy. I'm sure doctors just love getting these emergency-type phone calls from patients on Saturday evenings. :/ I spoke with Dr. Mease and he agreed to call in the prescription.
So we head to a 24-hr Walgreens we had found and wait for the Rx to come thru. About 10 minutes later, I receive a phone call from Dr. Mease. He is not going to call in the prescription because he feels like I'm not being honest with him, since he had written an insulin prescription for me a couple of weeks ago. I had to laugh at him! As a doctor, you would think he would understand that insulin is not the sort of drug I'm going to want to sell on the streets for cash! The only thing it would do for people would be to send them into a coma (Ooooooo fun!). After a couple of minutes of some choice words from me, he agreed to call in the Rx. Don't worry...we will be finding a new primary care physician shortly.
All good, right? Wrong. Since my insurance had approved the insulin earlier in the day at Publix, they were not going to approve it again. The only option? Buy the insulin at face value for roughly $270. Cue the panic-stricken look on my face and welling of tears in my eyes. We take a quick glance at my insurance card and see that my emergency room copay is only $100. Bye Walgreens!
We get to the ER and there are only about 4 other people besides myself inside. The nurse has me fill out the basic paperwork and asks me how long I've been without insulin at this point (about 3 hours) and if I've been vomiting (no). She says she'll be right with me. 40 minutes later, after every other person had been helped...my name is called. Imagine her surprise when she takes my blood sugar and it's 510! (Normal range is anything below 120). She decided at that point that I was a priority (ha!). They rush me back without even registering me or taking my payment. At this point, I'm fading fast into the symptoms of high blood sugar (avid thirst, constant urination, sweaty, nauseous and a bad attitude...my poor husband was a champ). They come to set up an IV. I try and tell the nurse as politely as I can to be careful with my veins. They run a bit sideways and people always have trouble finding them when they take blood. He assures me that THIS vein he's found looks good and it will be fine. Cue my eye roll. I've had diabetes since I was 9 and had my blood drawn countless times- I know what I'm talking about! Today's "something blue" photo is a result of this nurse's assurance.
After they pull about a gallon of my blood and decide that I do, indeed, need insulin, they inject me with the good stuff. Finally, a few hours later, I am released with decreasing blood sugar and some insulin to tide me over until the morning. I'd like to thank the awesome nurse that smuggled the insulin and syringes to me without charging me for it. She was such a blessing during this awful night.
Needless to say, this weekend was a learning experience. Lesson #1- always call in and pick up your prescriptions early. Not everywhere is open late. Lesson #2- take care in choosing your doctors. You want one that's going to be on your side during a situation like this. And Lesson #3- always thank people that help you out in situations like this. They are everyday angels that have been purposefully placed in your life, even if only for a few minutes.
